2000
#122,534
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Boten
An occupational surname referring to a maker of boats or ships.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Boten. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boten surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Boten in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boten, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.4%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boten
The surname "BOTEN" is believed to have originated in Germany, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the 16th century. The name is likely derived from the German word "Bote," which means "messenger" or "envoy." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who worked as a messenger or courier.
One of the earliest known references to the name "BOTEN" can be found in the records of the town of Nuremberg, where a certain Hans Boten was documented as a resident in 1542. The name also appears in various other German records from the 16th and 17th centuries, often in areas around the Rhine region and southern Germany.
It is possible that the name "BOTEN" may have been influenced by or derived from place names or older spellings of place names, as was common during that time period. For example, there is a town called Bötersen in Lower Saxony, Germany, which could have contributed to the name's origins.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname "BOTEN." One of the earliest was Johannes Boten (1592-1659), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor at the University of Helmstedt. Another was Johann Boten (1670-1745), a German composer and organist who worked in the court of the Elector of Cologne.
In the 19th century, Carl Boten (1811-1887) was a German painter and lithographer who gained recognition for his landscapes and cityscapes. Another notable figure was the German philosopher and social theorist Ludwig Boten (1826-1901), who wrote extensively on ethics and the philosophy of history.
One of the most recent individuals with the surname "BOTEN" was the German writer and journalist Karl Boten (1893-1976), who was known for his novels and short stories exploring themes of social injustice and the human condition.
While the surname "BOTEN" is not particularly common today, its rich history and connections to various professions and areas of Germany make it a fascinating name to explore from an etymological and cultural perspective.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boten
Among Census respondents with the surname Boten, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.4%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Boten bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Boten surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.0% · 104
- Hispanic or Latino7.4% · 9
- Two or more races3.3% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 3
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boten
Boten appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#123,064
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 140
+10 bearers (+7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 530 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-19 bearers (-13.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 18,245 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #122,534 | 130 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #123,064 | 140 | 0.05 | +10 bearers (+7.7%) | Down 530 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | -19 bearers (-13.6%) | Down 18,245 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Boten surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #123,064 | #141,309 | -14.8% |
| Count | 140 | 121 | -13.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -19.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boten bearers went from 140 to 121 (-13.6% change). The surname moved down 18,245 positions in the national ranking, going from #123,064 to #141,309.
FAQ
Boten surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boten?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Boten. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Boten?
Boten ranks #141,309 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 121 people with the surname Boten. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Boten.
Has Boten become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boten went from 140 recorded bearers to 121. That is a decrease of 19 (-13.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #123,064 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Boten?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boten, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.4%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Boten in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.0% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boten appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.0%), Hispanic (7.4%), Two or More Races (3.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Boten (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Boten mean?
An occupational surname referring to a maker of boats or ships. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Boten (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Boten?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.